Matthew Norman is the author of the novel Domestic Violets, which was nominated in the Best Humor category in the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. He lives outside Baltimore with his wife and two daughters and is currently working on another novel.

I love humor in writing. Not all stories can be funny—nor should they be—but I’m most attracted to fiction that has threads of humor. Richard Russo and Jess Walter are perfect examples of writers who balance humor and “serious” very well.

A Deal Breaker:

A deal breaker for me is overwriting. The older I get, the more infuriating I find it. Less is more.